Avro Lancaster in Detail

n by
Martin Waligorski

"If the name Spitfire became synonymous with saving the war for
Britain, so the name Lancaster became synonymous with the winning of it." wrote Mike
Garbett and Brian Goulding in their excellent book Lancaster at War.

Roy Chadwick, chief designer of A.V. Roe, knew form the start that they
had a winner. "Oh boy, oh boy... what an aeroplane! What a piece of aeroplane!"
was reportedly his comment while observing the first flight of a prototype Lancaster in
January 1941.

The first Royal Air Force squadron to re-equip with the Lancaster was No.
44 Squadron based at Waddington in December 1941. The first Lancaster offensive sortie was
made against Essen on the night of March 10/11, 1942.

Roy Chadwick was right in his judgement. The Lancaster was undoubtedly one
of the best, perhaps maybe the best of the heavy bombers used by the
allies during the war, all factors counted. Rugged and reliable. A workhorse being able to
carry larger bomb loads than any other bomber used in Europe. And also a pilot's aircraft,
pleasant to fly with no handling peculiarities so common to most of the other aircraft of
the period. This single aircraft made possible the escalation of the night bomber
offensive over Germany, and was, according to Sir Arthur Harris, Chief of Bomber Command,
the "greatest single factor in winning the war".

The accepted number of total Lancasters produced is 7374. Of this total,
3932 aircraft were lost on operations, representing over 20 thousand aircrew either
killed, captured or injured.

It is now over half the century since the Lancaster last flew
operationally. The last RAF machines where withdrawn in 1956. The last users, Canadian,
French Navy and Argentinean air forces retired their last Lancasters in 1964. Today about
20 identifiable airframes are known to exist in the world. Of these only two, The Battle
of Britain Memorial Flight's PA474 and the Canadian Warplane Heritage FM213 continue to
fly. The remainder are by and large persevered in various locations throughout the world.

The following pictures where taken at RAF Hendon Museum. I apologise for
not including the overall view of the machine, but the aircraft was simply too big to be
shot with the on-camera flash in a dark surrounding. The presented machine is R5868 PO*S,
nicknamed Devils of the Air, of no. 467 Bomber Squadron. The aircraft has
distinguished itself by being one of the few "Centurion" Lancasters, having
flown more than 100 successful operations (in fact 136). The same aircraft flew with 83
Squadron as OL-Q during the first half of it's career.

Avro Lancaster Mk I

There is also another Lancaster that I utilised for
this photo essay, and we start our walk-around with it. This is Imperial War Museum's
preserved nose section of the Lanc. Note that it still carries the original wartime
camouflage, including the wear and tear to the paint!

This view shows the nose seen directly from above.
There is a flat hatch on the top of the canopy with heavier framing placed inside of the
glazing. Of note is also a rolled-up fabric sun cover visible just behind the forward
frame.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The nose of the same machine, showing the front
Frazer-Nash FN-5 gun turret.

The blister below provided a bombardier with
downward vision. This blister is of later production model, being larger and with a more
pronounced curve.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

Another view of the front turret, this time
extracted from the airframe, allowing internal detail to be seen. The turret was
power-operated and featured two Browning 0.303 calibre machine guns.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

A peek inside pilot's compartment through open
side window . The interior is painted Interior Green with instrument panel and
radio equipment painted black.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

This view from inside the fuselage shows the
pilot's seat under the port side of the canopy. The starboard side has been left free to
allow the crew to move inside the fuselage.

Also visible is the instrument panel with standard
RAF layout and the throttle quadrant.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The two compartments behind the pilot was occupied
by the navigator and radio operator. The radio compartment is at the front, with
navigator's seat visible just behind the two supporting pillars.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

Leaving off Imperial War Museum's pieces of the
Lanc, this and the following pictures show Hendon's Devils of the Air.

The bomb bay of the Lancaster was simply huge,
compared to the other aircraft of the period. This is a view of the entire bay looking
aft. Note plenty of structural detail at the bay's roof and the smooth inner surface of
the bomb doors.

The round object visible between the rear end of
the bomb doors is the radar cover.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

This is an inboard engine of the port wing. The
view shows the shape of the propeller spinner and cooler air intake. Two smaller scoops
for carburettor air can be seen at both sides of the nacelle.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The same nacelle photographed from below. More
details of the cooler can be seen.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

Main undercarriage unit features a massive wheel,
supported by two struts.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

More internal detail of the wheel well can be seen
on this picture, taken from the aft of the inboard nacelle.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The partially open landing flap reveals the
prominent rib detail. Note how the rear end of the inboard nacelle is hinged to follow the
flap's movement.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The rear section of the fuselage, just aft of bomb
bay. On the top there is a dorsal Frazer-Nash FN-50 turret, it's base surrounded by an
aerodynamic fairing.

Below the fuselage there is a large teardrop
blister housing H2S radar antennae.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The port vertical stabiliser. Note the mass balance
just above the "S" insignia.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

The aircraft's tail. The rear turret featured an
extra armament of four 0.303 calibre machine guns. Shell ejection chutes where a distinct
feature of the rear turret and can be seen just below the gun barrels.

The turret was protected from the slipstream by
means of the deflecting fairing, the rear edge of which can be seen ending the side of the
fuselage.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

A close-up on the rear turret, showing the internal
structure of the mount for quadruple Browning guns.

Photo: Martin Waligorski

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